Ice Melts
by TysonGranger
Summary: Years after the D-Reaper incident, Rika finds herself outside the home of the tamer she has grown to love. Can she fully overcome her icy exterior and, at last, admit her love? (Rukato, One-shot?).


**Merry Christmas to all my faithful readers out there! I thank all of you who supported me the first time I posted this (Vigatus, the Zazu, all of you!), from the bottom of my heart I do. I also thank Cloaked Fox for pointing out a few things I did not know. Although I know I cannot make you agree with my point of view, I hope you have gained a respect for mine, as I have yours. With that said, here is my Christmas present to all of you Rukato fans, (and anyone else who enjoys my writing!) the reposting of my Rika/Takato one-shot, "Ice Melts." Perhaps they'll be something special for you all come new years as well...only time will tell.Heh heh! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon, its characters, or the original plot.**

**Ice Melts**

**By: Tyson Granger**

When did it begin? She didn't know for sure. All she did know was that it had begun some time ago, and now it seemed to be all she could think about. She had tried to forget about the goggle-headed tamer, but it seemed the more she tried, the more she remembered. He had offered her friendship when her cold demeanor scared others away. He taught her the meaning of friendship, and he in doing so, saved her relationship with her best friend and partner.

'He was only being nice,' she had told herself, 'he is my friend, nothing more.' She had tested the waters of denial, but as time wore on, her defenses slowly fell away under the scrutinizing gaze of his odd colored eyes. She now knew it for sure, and so it was that she found herself here, outside his college apartment, staring at his window from the shadows.

He had told her to stop by whenever she felt like it. He wouldn't mind if she came up…he had given her an extra key to let herself in case he was sleeping and did not hear her knock. He was such a good friend to her…always willing to lend an ear and listen to her thoughts, her problems, and even her constant complaints without so much as…well, complaining. 'But he doesn't want this,' she reasoned with herself, 'he doesn't want the same thing I do.'

Unconsciously, she had gone to the door anyway. Her hand slipped into the pocket of her tight blue jeans, fumbling for her keys. 'Stupid keys, if only my key chain wouldn't have broken, I could have clipped it onto my belt loop,' she muttered silently, huffing as she pulled the desired key from her pocket. She hesitated a moment before placing the key in the lock.

What would he think if she just walked right into his house at this time of night and told him? That was her style…after all, she'd never been one to beat around the bush. The Digimon Queen never worried about what other people thought, but for him, she was always a little bit careful not to be too cold. Deciding to go with her instincts, she put the key into the lock and let herself in.

Not long ago, she would have been more careful about letting herself into his apartment late at night, worried that she might find the goggle-headed tamer with company and…how should we say…entertaining. It was only a few months ago that she had learned that he had broken up with his long-time girlfriend. He said he had never really felt right with her after they had gotten together after the D-Reaper incident.

It was a few weeks later that he had informed her, after a heated argument about his availability, that he had never even gone to bed with her when his girlfriend stayed at his apartment all those times before. Something in his heart had never let him go any further with the puppet-loving girl, in spite of her desire to do so after they had graduated from high school together. The red-haired tamer's heart beat faster at the thought, but she never got her hopes up. Yet, she could never let go of her feelings either.

She crept down the short hallway to the room she knew he inhabited at night quietly, praying she would not wake him before she had the chance. If she was going to do this, she wanted to have the upper hand. 'Stupid goggle-head is always tripping over himself anyway; shouldn't be too hard to get on top of him,' she thought smirking, though a blush quickly brightened her pale cheeks when the double meaning of her statement hit her. 'Not literally, of course,' she corrected mentally, still blushing, '…stupid goggle-head making me think like this.'

The red-haired girl opened the door to his room silently, her lithe form slipping through the small crack she created. Once through, she slowly closed the door behind her, a small creaking sound sending a wave of panic through her as it clicked into place once more. She turned a shadow covered eye towards the bed against the far wall and let out a breath when she saw he was still asleep.

'Great, I'm here…now what?' she thought, nervous. She steadied her breath and tip-toed over to the bed, setting herself down beside the silent form of the young tamer. 'Too late to turn back now,' she steeled herself, raising her shaking right hand to wipe a bit of sweat from her forehead. Yes, she was sweating now. 'Damn you goggle-head, you're the only one who can make me nervous like this,' she cursed silently before lowering her shaking right hand to move a loose strand of light brown hair from the tamer's face.

She had never been this gentle with anyone before, not even her partner, but then again, she had never been in love before she had met him. She had also never been in his bedroom before, and a warm feeling in the pit of her stomach made itself known, a mix of nerves and affection, one as a result of and the other directed towards the sleeping tamer.

Her quivering hand softly began to stroke the smooth skin of the young man's face, and a sudden link was formed between the two by the contact that she certainly did not want to break any time soon. She smiled a tiny smile as she ran her finger along his cheekbone, noticing the lack of definition in the muscles. 'You need to work out more Goggles, you're getting out of shape,' she smirked, her index finger tapping his nose very lightly.

As her finger brushed the side of his cheek once more, her hand began to slink around to the back of his head, and her fingers intertwined with his soft hair gently. A seemingly distant memory of another type of hair…an orange fur…passing through her fingers brought another faint smile to the girl's face, but it was pushed aside quickly, memories of her partner not important at the moment.

The young tamer's breath caught slightly as he began to stir, startling the red-haired girl nearly enough for her to break the link between them…but not quite. Gathering her courage, she lowered her head slowly until she was face-to-face with him. She paused, as if waiting for some silent confirmation to proceed with her actions, and was rewarded justly as the young man opened his eyes.

His strange colored eyes opened slowly, taking in all that was around him in a groggy haze. It wasn't until he felt the hot breath of the female tamer that he noticed the woman directly in front of his face. Rubbing his eyes sleepily, he opened them once more, this time a bit wider and gasped as his odd colored eyes met with a distinct violet. "Rika?" he whispered in a breathy, disbelieving voice that shook with nervousness. She knew he had never been in bed with another woman before, and he was nervous…she had the upper hand…this was the moment she had been waiting for.

"Shut up Goggle-head," she whispered sharply, cutting off any further protests by smothering his lips with her own. At first he did not react as she had hoped, merely staying still as her tongue licked his lips, begging for entrance. She was about to pull away, thinking it to be a mistake when the shock wore off and he quickly…almost too quickly…complied with her unspoken request.

The violet-eyed girl's tongue stroked his own firmly, a sense of longing that had built up over the years reminding her to enjoy all he was willing to offer. His sweet essence began to merge with her own, tastes mingling in their mouths as their kisses became deeper and more passionate. In her mind, she was satisfied that he seemed to be returning her kiss, but her heart was not as satisfied…was he really returning her kiss by choice, or was he merely still in a daze from having just woken up? She had to know.

Whispering against his lips, she mouthed the words she was too afraid to say out loud. She paused again for a moment to gauge his reaction, only to have his lips crush against her own after whispering something nearly inaudible that she couldn't make out against them. The kisses got heavier, and their bodies got hotter, causing the red-haired girl to swiftly shed her shoes and pants before receiving a bit of help with her broken-heart t-shirt from the boxer-clad man beside her.

The pause her disrobing caused was soon ended when she wrapped her arms around his neck once more, kissing him fiercely and pulling him tightly against her body. His hands stayed firmly put against her hips, holding her firmly against him and at the same time ensuring she did not feel his reaction to their proximity. She was not satisfied, however, and her hand quickly grasped his own, placing it firmly on her bottom. She nearly giggled when she felt the heat from his face increase two-fold.

He blushed deeply, but did not make any move to remove his hand from its resting place. Instead, his fingers began to massage the creamy skin beneath her purple panties. She nearly moaned in pleasure, but her pride allowed her to hold back such a response. The red-haired girl rolled him onto his back, and her hands pressed into his bare chest, pinning him beneath her. His odd colored eyes widened slightly, but a not-so-concealed smirk belied his false surprise.

She smirked as she swung her right leg over his waist, straddling his body completely and placing her in total control. Grabbing both his now-idle hands in her own, the violet-eyed beauty placed them squarely on her bum once more before leaning in and placing her lips on his own once more in a quick kiss. Pulling back, she smirked once more as her hands left his chest to slide behind her own back and gracefully unclip the purple lace bra that covered her own chest.

Blushing slightly, she held the ends for a second longer before allowing it to slide off of her slowly, revealing two milky white breasts. The young tamer's hands ached to touch them, and they trembled in anticipation, sending small waves of pleasure through the woman above him due to the current position of his fingers on her bum.

Sensing his desire, she once again took his hands into her own and placed them over the area he had been eyeing. Leaning into his grip, her hands landed against his own hard chest again. She allowed him to revel in the feel of her precious mounds as she began kissing him once more. His thumbs stroked the crest of the mounds, lightly brushing across the nipples, bumping up a bit as he felt them grow hard under his touch.

New, stronger waves of pleasure ran throughout her body, and she moaned against his lips as it reacted to his nervous, shaking hands. She reached one of her hands up and released her red hair from its normal spiked bun, letting it fall to the side of hers and his own face, never breaking her lips from his own. Once again, her other hand came to live and slowly began to slide towards the elastic waistband of his blue boxer shorts. The contact with one of her breasts soon was replaced with contact against her hand, however, stopping it before she could breach his final barrier.

Violet eyes searched his own, wondering if she had done something wrong, but a comforting smile relaxed her worry. "Say it Rika…that's all I want…if you want this, that's all I need," he said plainly.

"I love you…Takato…" she whispered slyly, nipping at his ear playfully, earning a gasp from the young tamer. She had to remind him that she was still in charge, after all. A slightly amazed look came across her face as she realized the full extent of her position. Here she sat atop the man she loved, in his own bed, and in complete control of the situation. She had only to ask, but was she ready for such a huge step? Was she really ready to let him in?

In her heart, she knew she had long been ready…she was merely waiting for an opportunity. She smiled, a true smile, her question already forming on her lips. Her smile, although true, belied the nervousness within her at making such a request…she would be making herself vulnerable, a position she had always been afraid of… but she knew that her trust was safe with him. "Will you love me tonight, Takato? If I love you tonight, completely, will you stay with me this one night?"

The young tamer's eyes softened at the loving tone she'd asked her question in…and his answer remained the same, in spite of it. "I will love you tonight Rika...I'll love you forever…" his quiet voice carrying a tenderness even he had never known, "and I'll stay with you for as long as you'll have me." Pure, uninhibited joy spread across the face of one Rika Nonaka for the first time, and she lowered her soft lips onto the waiting lips of her new love. The red-headed tamer quickly removed the last barriers between them, allowing the two young lovers to finally bond together in the most intimate way possible.

Moans of pleasure and cries of ecstasy pierced the stagnant air of the small apartment building until the sun rose elegantly in the eastern sky. Their passionate dance finally subsided then, and the most amazing night of their lives came to a sweet end. In bed, they laid together, bodies still linked, and in spite of the time, they were simply content to stay that way.

The combined heat staved off the cold from their still-drying sweat, and the exhaustion from the night-long excursion helped the two young lovers into a deep and comfortable sleep.

When she awoke hours later, she looked to her side and gazed upon the sleeping form of the man she loved. Rika sighed happily, kissing his lips softly as she snuggled further into his arms. For the first time since Renamon had gone back to the digital world, she truly felt like she was not alone. Together, the ice around their hearts as a result of their partners' departure had finally begun to melt.

In Takato's loving arms, the once icy Digimon Queen could finally feel warmth.


End file.
